Affiliations 

  • 1 Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. raghdaa.alzarzour@yahoo.com
  • 2 Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. mariam@usm.my
  • 3 Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. amzaini@usm.my
  • 4 Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. gurjeet@usm.my
  • 5 Discipline of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. mohali141@yahoo.com
  • 6 Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. madjed_25@yahoo.fr
  • 7 Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. sultan_a1976@yahoo.com
  • 8 Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. nasibausman@gmail.com
  • 9 Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. dhamora@yahoo.com
  • 10 Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia. yammunfei@yahoo.com
Nutrients, 2017 Jul 18;9(7).
PMID: 28718838 DOI: 10.3390/nu9070766

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the major global health issues, strongly correlated with insulin resistance, obesity and oxidative stress. The current study aimed to evaluate anti-NAFLD effects of three different extracts of Phyllanthus niruri (P. niruri). NAFLD was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats using a special high-fat diet (HFD). A 50% methanolic extract (50% ME) exhibited the highest inhibitory effect against NAFLD progression. It significantly reduced hepatomegaly (16%) and visceral fat weight (22%), decreased NAFLD score, prevented fibrosis, and reduced serum total cholesterol (TC) (48%), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (65%), free fatty acids (FFAs) (25%), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (45%), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (38%), insulin concentration (67%), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (73%), serum atherogenic ratios TC/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (29%), LDL/HDL (66%) and (TC-HDL)/HDL (64%), hepatic content of cholesterol (43%), triglyceride (29%) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (40%) compared to a non-treated HFD group. In vitro, 50% ME of P. niruri inhibited α-glucosidase, pancreatic lipase enzymes and cholesterol micellization. It also had higher total phenolic and total flavonoid contents compared to other extracts. Ellagic acid and phyllanthin were identified as major compounds. These results suggest that P. niruri could be further developed as a novel natural hepatoprotective agent against NAFLD and atherosclerosis.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.